More Important Than We Knew
by RandomTendencies13
Summary: When a fire leaves Jack Frost mortally wounded and destroys his staff, the guardians will discover that the spirit's staff is far more important to him than just as a conduit for his powers...
1. Chapter 1

Pitch loomed in the corner of the room, a cruel smile spreading across his face. He gently ran a finger along the sleeping Jack Frost's jaw and chuckled at the dancing sand dreams above his and young Jamie's head. "Oh, Sandman...you've only made my job easier. How will Jack Frost survive if he's asleep until it's too late?" The shadowy man pulled a candle seemingly from nowhere and lit it. After first lighting the window curtains on fire, he made his way through the silent house, setting every possible exit on fire. He returned to Jamie's room again, happy with the progress of the spreading curtain fire. He set the still lit candle underneath the spirit's chair. "I do so hope you'll enjoy my little surprise, Frosty. Don't melt too fast now..." Pitch slipped into the shadows of the open closet, using his shadows to disappear from the house.

* * *

Jack awoke to the feeling of being overly warm and the sound of screams. He groggily sat up, feeling dizzy.

"Jack!"

Jamie's screams finally broke him from his sleepy trance. He finally opened his eyes, terrified at seeing that the room was engulfed by flames. The teenage spirit immediately jumped out of his chair. "Jamie, are you-" He stopped when he heard more screams from other parts of the house. "Go, find your mom! I'll get Sophie!" Jack and Jamie ran from his room. Jack swept into Sophie's room and quickly spotted the cowering little girl. "Sophie!

Her head snapped up, tears streaming down her face. "Jack-Jack!"

"I got you. Don't worry, Soph. I got you..." He lifted the little girl into his arm, immediately realizing how much the fire had already sapped his strength. He used his staff to break the window in the room, and he jumped through it and out into the night air. He set Sophie down, and almost immediately both of her parents came running around the house and spotted her. They rushed over and scooped their daughter into their arms.

Jack almost let out a sigh of relief, until he realized something. _Wait. Where's-_

Then he heard the scream coming from inside the burning house. "JACK!" Without hesitating, the winter spirit jumped back through the broken window and into the burning inferno.

* * *

E. Aster Bunnymund prided himself on loving all of the children he helped, but he felt especially connected to one little girl in particular. And when he felt deep down that something bad was happening to her, he immediately opened a portal to Burgess and ran as fast as he could through the tunnels, a sense of fear gripping him more with every bound he took.

When the pooka surfaced right next to the his special little girl's house, he nearly fainted at the shocking sight of their entire house engulfed in flames. "Sophie!" He began frantically looking around. He spotted her crying in the snow, as her parents panicked, trying to find a way to get to their son.

"Bunny!" The little blonde ran into the pooka's arms. "Save Jamie and Jack-Jack! Fire not good for cold!" Tears ran down her face, as even she knew the effects such heat would have on the fun-loving winter guardian.

The building sense of dread finally fell deep into the pit of Bunny's stomach. "Jack!" He jumped through the nearest broken window, frantically searching for his fellow guardian. He had to jump out of the way to avoid a falling chunk of ceiling. _Blimey. This place is about to come down!_

* * *

When Jack found the boy, he was trapped in his parents' room, the door in flames. The guardian used the butt of his staff to shove the door open so Jamie could run out. The kid immediately ran into his arms, and Jack had to step back a bit, falling a bit off balance. "Jack! You came for me!"

"Of course I did! But we've...I've got to get you out of here!" He grabbed Jamie's hand and turned to leave, but when there was a sudden flare in the flames next to him, the winter spirit collapsed, gasping for air. He felt all of the frost on him melting and starting to drip off of him.

"Jack!" Jamie coughed, trying to get his friend to stand. "Come on, Jack! We have to get out of here!"

Luckily the Easter Bunny found them just then, and he quickly put Jack's arm over his shoulder, helping him stand. "Come on, Jamie! We've got to get both of you outta here!"

"Bunny..." The winter spirit coughed, being half dragged next to the over-sized rabbit, while Jamie ran in front of them. When he heard a sudden loud creak in the ceiling above them, Jack could see the structure beginning to give in. _Bunny, no! _He quickly shoved the pooka out of the way just in time to save him from the collapse. Jack himself wasn't so lucky, though. In an instant he was half buried under a flaming wooden beam and rubble, the wood searing into his back. _At least I saved him..._ were his last thoughts before everything went black.

Aster and Jamie couldn't do anything but watch in horror, as their friend was buried, both of them screaming, "JACK!"

Bunny quickly leapt into action, throwing everything he could off to the side. "I ain't leaving here without you, Frostbite! I'll get you outta here. I promise." He finally shoved the beam away and lifted Jack's body into his arms. "Let's go, kid!" Bunnymund and Jamie ran through the house, finally jumping out the broken window in Sophie's room. Bunny quickly ushered the kid over to his family.

As another part of the house collapsed inside, Jack suddenly cried out in pain, clutching his chest before and falling out of Bunny's arms. Only seconds later he hurtled back into the world of the unconscious. "I've gotta get him to North!" Without any farewells, the pooka quickly scooped him back up into his arms, and he jumped into his hole, starting for the North Pole.

**Reviews are always nice. I'm always trying to improve my writing so opinions or ideas you may have are welcome. Hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Chapter 2

Bunny could swear that he'd never run so fast in his life. Even so, he felt like he wasn't going fast enough. He knew he was exhausted. His limbs were starting to feel like North's infamous eggnog jello, and he was starting to realize that his paws had been burned when he was digging Jack out of the rubble. As much as it all hurt, the sound of Jack's weak breathing in his ears made him push himself even further.

It felt like hours before Aster finally made it to the Pole. He leapt out of his hole and rushed in through the nearest door, not caring that he had to push his way past the surprised yetis. "North!"

He found the big man in the central command room, planning out his routes for his next run on Christmas in a couple of months. He turned at the sound of his name, with a smile on his face, but it quickly disappeared as soon as he saw the motionless body in the breathless pooka's arms. "What happened?!"

"There was a fire. He needs help bad, mate. _Now_."

North leapt into action, shouting at yetis to get the infirmary ready and to keep the elves away from the globe while he was gone. "This way, Bunny. Now tell me more what happened."

The two of them quickly made their way through the workshop, Bunny telling North the entire story. "When I found 'em, Jack was on the floor looking like he was about to pass out. I tried to get him outta there, but the ceilin' started to collapse, and the idiot saved me. I think it's real bad, North."

"We will see." They walked into the infirmary. "Set him down, and take shirt off."

Aster laid Jack's limp body on the bed and set about trying to remove the blue hoodie as gently as possible. As soon as the hem was lifted only a few inches up, Bunnymund very nearly hurled at the sight of just those three inches of the wound being revealed. _Crikey…this is worse than I thought…_ His eyes widened further as each inch of Jack's back was revealed. When he could finally pull the hoody completely off, blood covering its tattered fabric, he could see the pieces of skin that had seared to cloth and been pulled off with it. Bunny cringed, uttering a silent apology to the winter spirit.

As North came back over, he and Aster could finally get a good look at what had happened to their friend. The big man's jaw dropped, "Rimsky Korsakov…" The sight was truly not for any who had weak stomachs. Jack had numerous burns scattered all over his body, and his feet and hands were blistered from the heat. You could clearly see that some of his ribs were most likely broken from the collapse. The worst was by far the wound left behind by the flaming wooden beam. A horrific gaping path trailed from Jack's left hip and over his right shoulder and upper arm, the skin blackened and seeping blood. If it was even possible, the boy's skin looked even paler than it usually was.

The yeti medics quickly leapt into action, ushering the two guardians out of the room and setting to work trying to save the winter spirit. North headed back to the central command room to send word of Jack's condition to Sandman and Tooth.

Bunny stayed near the door, his ears twitching, as he paced and listened to what was going on inside. The pooka paused for just a moment, listening again to the yetis incomprehensible grumbling to each other as they worked before continuing his pacing. _Oh, Manny…don't let it be as bad as it seems…_

* * *

Hours had passed since the yetis had started their work, and they had still yet to receive any news. Tooth Fairy and Sandman had arrived as soon as they could after they got North's message. As the time continued to pass by, the worry was clearly taking its toll on all of the guardians. Tooth looked to be on the verge of tears, Aster was still pacing back and forth in front of the doorway with his ears pulled back in apprehension, and North and Sandy…well, those two seemed to be taking it harder than the others.

Sandy sat slumped in a chair, as he started to lose his magical shimmering effect on the sand around him. The images he made above his head showing the others how much he blamed himself for all of this. The boy had seemed so exhausted when he had happened upon him at Jamie's house, so he had used his dreamsand to make him rest. If he hadn't, maybe Jack would have been able to get out of the house in time. He felt a large hand rest on his shoulder and he looked up into North's face.

"Is not your fault, Sandy. If anyone's…it is mine." He frowned, thinking about how much he had grown to love the winter spirit. Over the past two years, he had started to think of him as his own son. "Jack came to me very tired-looking, so I said he should go to Jamie's. The boy always make him feel better. I never would have, had I known this would have-"

"No!" Tooth flew over to them. "It's not your fault, North. It's all my fault Jack was tired. He's been helping me collect teeth for the past couple of weeks. He looked like he was really quite tired, so I told him he should take a couple days off to rest. If he hadn't been helping me, none of this would have happened."

Aster finally stopped his pacing, shooting a look at the other three. "Oi! Would you all stop your earbashing?! Yes, we all feel like this is our fault. You think I don't feel the same? I _was_ _there_. I can't stop feeling like there was something more I could have done if I had gotten there just a bit faster." He shook away the feeling. "But it doesn't matter. It's done. There ain't nothin' we can do to change it, and sittin' around here feelin' bad ain't gonna help the kid get better." The other three nodded, trying to push away their self-blame. "But what the bloody hell is taking so long?! They should have been done by now!" The pooka went back to his pacing.

After what seemed like yet another hour, the door finally opened, the yetis filing out. One stayed behind to tell North the results. When they were done and the yeti left, the big man turned to the others with a sigh. "Is not good. They say Jack's feet and hands are burned bad, there are burns everywhere, he has dislocated shoulder, broken ribs, and the beam…" He had to take a big breath to hold back a sniffle. "…when it fell…left big gash that goes down to bone…" Tooth gasped in horror, her tears finally flowing down her face.

"But is he gonna make it?" Bunny asked the question that they were all thinking.

"It may take long time, but they hope so." Sandy started shooting pictures above his head, asking something. "Yes, we may see him. But he is resting, so not for too long." North opened the door, letting the other three guardians inside.

Tooth immediately flew to the side of the bed, tears running down her face anew at the pale form lying on its side. "Oh, Jack…" She gently cupped the side of his face lovingly, her hand moving to softly stroke through his white hair.

* * *

The yetis soon returned to check on his bandages, shooing the guardians outside again. As they sat outside the door, waiting again, Bunny's ears suddenly caught the sound of a small scuffle inside. The yetis were grunting something, and he could have sworn he heard his name. Aster jumped up and threw the door open, relief and worry immediately washing over him.

Jack was no more than a foot away from the bed, his legs wobbling, as he tried to push past the yetis, looking around almost frantically. Blue eyes finally settled upon the giant pooka standing in front of the rest of his friends in the doorway. "Bunny…" he said hoarsely, his voice no higher than a whisper. He clutched at his chest, his legs giving out.

Aster shot forward just in time to catch the collapsing Jack. "I gotcha, mate. Don't you worry. We're gonna get you all fixed up."

"Bunny…" Jack gasped, clearly in pain. "Where…where's my…staff?"

* * *

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	3. Chapter 3

Aster froze, his eyes widening, and he could feel everyone else in the room staring at him. "I…I'm sorry, Jackie. I had to get you out of that fire. I didn't…it's gone…" He bowed his head in apology. "I'm so sorry, mate." When he looked back at Jack, he had slipped into unconsciousness again, a tear frozen on his face. Bunny gently laid him back in the bed, pulling the blanket over him with a sigh. He turned back to the other guardians. "I really didn't think…"

Tooth moved forward, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "It's not your fault, Aster. We all would have been more worried about getting him out than his staff."

"That brings us to new question: what is staff to Jack Frost? What is connection between the two?" North stroked his beard, trying to figure it out.

* * *

Hours passed by with each of the guardians throwing out ideas that only ended up getting shot down by the others. Each of them took turns going to check in on Jack, hoping that he had made a change for the better. As they sat on the couches around the large sitting room, waiting for Bunnymund to return from watching Jack and switch off with someone else, Sandy suddenly had an idea. He started waving his hands, trying to get the others' attention.

"What is it, Sandy?" North turned to face him. Sandy had made a picture of an open book above his head and was pointing at the big man. "You are right. Why did I not think of it before?" He finally acknowledged the confused fairy beside him. "Perhaps answer could be found in library."

"Maybe what can be found in the library?" Aster walked into the room. "Your turn, Sandy." He watched the little golden man nod before leaving.

"Since Manny will not respond, we have few choices. Sandy thinks we might try looking in books."

"Then what're we doin' sittin' around here, mate? Let's go see if we can find us some answers."

North and Bunny turned to leave, but Tooth didn't follow. "I think…I'm going to go get Jamie."

"The ankle-biter? Are you sure that's the best idea, Tooth?"

"Jack risked his life to save Jamie and Sophie from that fire. I think that Jamie would want to know how he is…and be able see him one last time if he…if he…" She couldn't hold back a sniff. Feeling a comforting hand on her shoulder, she looked up to see North.

"Go get child." He gave her a sad smile. With a nod of her head, Tooth flitted out the window.

* * *

It didn't take long for Tooth to find the boy. As soon as he had told his parents he would be spending the weekend at a friend's and had packed a small overnight bag, the two of them headed to Santoff Clausen. Jamie followed the fairy through the expansive building until they reached the infirmary. Just outside the door, though, she turned and stopped him. "Jamie, are you sure you want to do this? He isn't…he's not in very good shape…"

Seeing the tears that threatened to spill out of her sparkling eyes, he moved closer, wrapping his arms around her neck. "I have to see him, Tooth…"

"O-okay…" She wiped at her eyes, before turning to quietly open the door. "Sandy? Has he woken up yet?" The little man looked at her sadly, shaking his head. "I brought a visitor for him." Tooth opened the door a little more, coming in and stepping to the side so Jamie could enter.

"Jack…" His bag fell from his hand, completely forgotten, and Jamie ran for the bed. "Jack!" He took a pale hand in his own, immediately noticing that it was warmer than usual. "H-how bad is it?" He turned to look at the other two guardians. Neither of them replied, and Tooth just burst into tears. "Oh…" Jamie moved to hop onto the chair by Jack's bed, looking closer at him. "What's wrong with his hair?" Sandy made a question mark over his head. "It's turning brown."

"What?!" Tooth and Sandy were immediately next to him. They saw for themselves that brown was starting to spread through the hair like a disease, replacing the pure white of the teen's usual snowy hair. "Oh, no…" The fairy gently opened one of Jack's eyes, letting it close again with a gasp. "His eyes too." Her head snapped up. "I'm getting North." Tooth flew down the halls as fast as she could towards the library, bursting through the door. "North!"

The burly man quickly caught the book he had practically thrown in shock. "What is wrong?" Bunny walked up to them, setting his own book down.

"I-it's Jack. There's something wrong with him…" Without a second thought, the three guardians ran for the infirmary.

Bunny, of course, got there first, immediately noticing the difference. "What could this mean, North?"

After looking the unconscious teenager over again, he looked up at the others with wide eyes. "He is warmer than usual," he said, it almost sounding like a question. "What could it be?"

Tooth stroked through Jack's now completely brown hair with a teary eyed look. "He almost looks...human."

"No..." The big man's jaw dropped. "It could not be..."

"What is it? Do you know what's happening to him, mate?" Bunny shuffled closer to the bed.

"He _is _human. For reasons I do not know...Jack has lost his immortality."

"How can that be?! Why is this happening?" Tooth finally lost it, tears streaming down her face, as she started to sob.

"Why are you all so loud?" A voice quietly rasped from the bed.

Everyone in the room immediately turned to look at him. "Jack!"

* * *

**Let me know if you have any ideas you'd like to throw at me. You never know, it might give me an epiphany. Hope you enjoyed it, and reviews are lovely gifts :)**


	4. Chapter 4

With a wince, Jack attempted to sit up, letting out a painful hiss when he moved his dislocated shoulder. He immediately felt like something was off, but he couldnt figure out what it was. Tooth shot forward, gently pushing him back down onto the bed. "Jack, no. You need to stay still and rest."

"Well, how is a guy supposed to get any rest with the lot of you around?" He groaned, blinking, as his eyes tried to get rid of a slight bluriness.

"We are just worried, my boy. Your condition is...is not good..." North frowned.

"I'm sure you're just being dramatic." Jack gave a weak smirk. "It can't be that ba-"

"Don't you dare say it isn't that bad, frostbite. It's far worse than you realize."

"Wh-what? It was just a little-" Jack could see the deep sadness in the Pooka's eyes.

"Just a fire, mate. But you're winter incarnate. And your staff...your bloody staff..." His voice choked, unable to say anything more.

North put a comforting hand on Aster's shoulder, turning back to the winter spirit. "We still do not know why losing it affected you how it did."

"Affected me how? What's-" He felt a small hand grab his own, and he looked over, shocked. "Jamie, how-" His eyes widened, as he looked back down at their hands. The feeling that something was different washed over him again, more urgently this time. He could see that his skin was no longer as pale as snow, and the touch that should have been hot on his icy skin felt like it was the same temperature as himself. "Wh-why am I so warm?" Jack looked at the guardians. "What happened to me?"

"You're mortal, Jack..." Tooth said quietly, tears streaming down her face. "And your wounds are...extensive."

"No..." He breathed. He gritted his teeth in pain and started forcing himself to sit up using his good arm.

"What are you doing?! You shouldn't be moving, Jack!" North and Bunny were instantly at the side of the bed with the others, Sandy ready to knock the exhausted boy out with dreamsand if it was needed.

"I-I have to see." He weakly tried to stopped them from pushing him back down.

The guardians immediately looked to North, not sure what to do. The big man gave a sigh of defeat. "Very well. Jamie, can you get medic yetis? It is time to change bandages anyhow." The boy nodded, before leaving the room. Tooth flitted out after him, quickly returning with two mirrors. By then, Bunny and North had helped Jack sit on the edge of the bed.

Tooth silently held one of the mirrors in front of him, watching once-blue eyes widen in shock. The winter spirit breathed hard, shakily reaching up to touch his brown locks and running fingers across his face in disbelief. He started to lean closer to the mirror, but he stopped, letting out a groan of

pain. "Why does it hurt...so much?" Jack started to pull at the few bandages he could reach over his shoulder.

North grabbed his hand, stopping him. "Are you sure about this, Jack?" After the teen nodded, he and the pooka started to carefully remove the bloodied bandages. The process wasn't as easy it had been for the yetis earlier, seeing as the winter spirit was wide awake now and could feel every little movement. Multiple times they had to mutter apologies, when Jack cried out in pain.

Breathing hard by the end of it, Jack wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not when the last of the bandages were pulled away. When Tooth started to sob in front of him, seeing the wound for the first time, he assumed the worst. "Let me..." He couldn't finish his sentence, but they knew what he wanted. North gently took the mirror from Tooth's hands. "Go stay with Jamie, Tooth. This not for boy's eyes." The fairy didn't need to be told twice, and she flew from the room. Sandy picked up the other mirror and moved behind Jack, so the spirit could use the two reflections to see his back.

Nobody knew what he would do, but they definitely didn't expect Jack to sit there so silently. For minutes he simply stared at his back, his mind feeling like it had gone numb at the sight of the blood slowly trickling from the wounds that had never closed. When he felt the world start to tilt, Jack was thankful that Bunny's hands had never left his shoulders, preventing him from falling off the bed.

The yetis soon came in, rebandanging the scarily silent spirit. After finishing and readjusting the sling on his right shoulder, they left the room, allowing Jamie and Tooth back in. Jamie ran to the bedside, after North and Aster had gently laid him back down on his left side. "Jack, are you okay?"

The winter spirit smiled weakly up at him. "Yeah...of course, buddy."

"Oh! I forgot!" Jamie suddenly remembered something, running to his long forgotten bag on the floor by the door. He carried it back to his chair by the bed and started rummaging around in it. "I brought these for you." He pulled out a snowglobe and set it on the table by the bed. "Ever since you gave me this last Christmas, I haven't gotten sick or hurt or anything. You said that it was magic, so I thought it could help you now." He then pulled out a blue and white blanket from the bag and draped it over the winter spirit, the silver threads in the intricate snowflake designs shining in the light. "And this is the blanket you gave Sophie. She said that it always makes her happy and makes her feel better, so maybe you need it more right now."

The other guardians teared up at the touching scene, and Tooth started crying all over again. "Jamie, could you do something for us?" North looked at the boy.

"Of course!" He looked up at the big man, eager to help.

The pooka stepped forward a bit. "Can you watch over Frostbite, here for us? It would help us out an awful lot, mate." Bunny gave him a reassuring smile, when Jamie nodded, his expression very serious. With one last farewell, everyone left the room, leaving Jamie and Jack alone.

"Jack, do you need anything?"

"No..." The winter spirit whispered, before he softly patted the bed beside him. "Come here, bud."

Without a second thought, Jamie carefully climbed into the bed beside him, cuddling against him. Jack pulled the blanket up to cover the boy too. "You don't look so good, Jack."

"I don't feel so good either," he gave a breathy laugh.

"You look older. Like you grew up three years since I saw you last night."

Jack chuckled softly. "Well, when you're tired, it makes you look older."

Jamie couldn't bring himself to smile with the spirit. "Jack...you're gonna be alright...right?" He felt a hand come to rest on the top of his head.

"I sure hope so, buddy..." The winter spirit rested his head atop Jamie's, hiding his face, as he blinked back tears. He couldn't let anybody see how scared he was. It would only make them worry more than they already did.

* * *

******1. In case you guys are wondering why I had to make this a new story...apparently FFnet decided to delete this story because it had a whole chapter for an author's chapter. Personally I think it's stupid to just completely delete a story for that. Give me a warning or something. Damn people. But yeah. I hope I don't get in trouble for re-creating this story, and if I do then oh well. Guess I'll just have to take my awesomeness to another website haha. Of course I'll let you guys know if that happens though **

******2. Just because I'm curious...what's your favorite line/passage from this fic? Review it or PM me ;)**

**********3. Also, I just joined Tumblr! So go look me up on there for sneak peeks and other awesomely random stuff :)**

**********4. I kind of want to write an ROTG fic with someone. Like a legit co-authored fic. I'm not picky on what it's about or if it's AU or not. Anybody interested?**


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